


fifty bucks

by greedlings



Series: fluff bingo [1]
Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Fluff, Multi, No Angst, Office Betting Pool, edling is what the squad is betting on, maybe some second-hand embarrassment tho, roys pov tho
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-21
Updated: 2020-03-21
Packaged: 2021-03-01 05:08:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23239702
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/greedlings/pseuds/greedlings
Summary: Roy and the senior members of his staff may have been too invested in their young coworkers love life, but it was simply harmless fun, right? And with the annual Christmas Secret Santa coming up, what could go wrong?
Relationships: Edward Elric/Ling Yao, Riza Hawkeye/Roy Mustang
Series: fluff bingo [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1670914
Comments: 8
Kudos: 153
Collections: Writing Squad Fluff Bingo





	fifty bucks

**Author's Note:**

  * For [KrisseyCrystal (IceCreAMS)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/IceCreAMS/gifts).



> fluff bingo time!! the writing server i'm in arranged a fluff bingo since most of us are doing badthingshappen, and who doesn't love some good old fluff now and again? this was the prompt 'office betting pool' with edling + the roy squad reqed by my wonderful friend krissey!!
> 
> no editing tho we post like mEN

“Well, sir, I can see about having these ready for tomorrow afternoon, but I don’t think I can get them to you any sooner.”

“That’s fine, Fuery. Now, completely unrelated—” Roy motioned towards the large window on the wall behind Fuery, “—What do you think about them?”

Roy watched as Fuery cocked his head, “Elric and Yao? What about them?”

As Fuery spoke, Ed said something, and Ling threw his head backward, laughing. Ed joined in, a hunt of pink visible in his cheeks. “Do you think they’re into each other?”

Fuery turned around again. “Sir! That’s not exactly-”

Roy waved his hand in dismissal, “I  _ know _ it’s not technically workplace appropriate, but I think we’ve all been coworkers long enough for it to count as…  _ friendly speculation _ . So anyways, what do you think?”

Slowly, the tension in Fuery’s shoulders left, and he turned his eyes to the side, “Well… yeah, I think they are.”

“I  _ knew _ it-”

“ _ But _ I don’t think they’ll act on it.”

Roy’s eyebrow rose, “What do you mean?”

“Well,” Fuery turned back towards the window, “Ed’s too proud to admit anything like that, and Ling… well, he’s  _ Ling _ .”

A knock came from the door, and Riza entered, a sizable stack of files wrapped in her arms. “Sir, I have these for you.”

“Just put them here,” Roy said, motioning towards an empty spot on the corner of his desk without tearing his eyes away from his younger employees, “And please close the door behind you, Riza.”

“O-okay.” Riza did as asked, quietly shutting the door behind her and placing the files down on her bosses desk. She then cleared her throat, and only then did Roy turn his gaze towards her, “Sir, can I ask what you’re doing?”

“We’re betting on Ed and Ling.”

“We weren’t  _ betting- _ ”

Riza nodded, almost sagely, as she said, “Fifty bucks they’ll be together by the end of the year.”

Both Kain and Roy turned to Riza, surprised. “ _ Fifty? _ ” Kain repeated, his voice slightly higher than usual.

“Yeah. It’s obvious that they’re into each other, so it shouldn’t be too long until  _ one of them _ asks the other out.” Riza smiled slightly, then turned towards the door, “Now, both of you should be getting back to work.” Without another word, she closed the door behind her. 

Roy sighed, “Yeah, she’s right. Do you have anything to add before you get back to work?”

Kain thought for a second before adding, “Fifty that we have to help them get together.”

“Alright,” Roy nodded, “but my money’s on them not getting together for a while.”

“Opposing your wife on this one I see.” Kain’s mouth pulled upwards into a playful smile.

“Shut up, Feury. Go do your job.”

“Yessir.” Kain nodded, then turned towards the door. He stopped once his hand landed on the handle of the door, “Are we still going out for drinks tonight?”

Roy nodded, and Kain smiled. Then he walked out, leaving Roy alone in his office.

His eyes wandered back over to his young employees; they seemed to be sharing jokes back and forth, attempting to make the other laugh. Roy watched as Ling told a joke, and Ed fought the urge to laugh. Ling pouted, then motioned towards Ed. Ed then told a joke, and Ling—though he clearly tried his best not to—burst out laughing once again. Slowly, Ed joined in, the gentle pink in his cheeks returning for just a second. 

_ God _ it was frustrating to watch. Roy had money on them not getting together, though, and he did  _ not _ like to lose.

*****

“I’ve gotta get home,” Ed said, standing from his seat at the table, “Thanks for inviting me out.”

“Whatever, pipsqueak.” Roy waved a dismissive hand, but still smiled when Ed’s face began to turn an angry shade of red. 

“We’re glad you could join us, kid. Have fun with your weekend,” Haymans said, and Roy watched with a slight frown as Ed calmed slightly.

Ed nodded, “Yeah, you too. You especially—“ Ed turned his eyes towards Roy “— _ old man. _ ”

Roy simply rolled his eyes in response, and Ed walked off to pay his tab. Vato glanced over at Roy, “Why do you let him talk to you like that?”

“Eh, he’s a kid. Plus I’ve known him for so long. Doesn’t feel right to punish him I guess.”

“The boss has a soft spot for the kid I see,” Haymans laughed, raising his glass to his lips.

“Whatever. I’m not the only one.”

No one replied. Roy almost laughed.

“Of course,  _ someone _ has a softer spot for him than any of us do,” Jean said, breaking the sudden silence.

Haymans shook his head, “That kid has gotta put on his big boy boots and ask him out.”

Everyone at the table groaned and nodded. “It’s almost painful to watch,” Kain added, taking a sip of his drink.

“My money’s on it happening soon,” Riza added, “but I still don’t think it could happen soon enough.”

Jean raised an eyebrow, “You’ve got money on them?”

“Fifty says they’re gonna be together by the end of the year. That’s what I’ve got going.”

“My bets on us needing to…  _ push _ them a little bit,” Kain added.

“Oh, I agree.” Haymans nodded as he spoke, lifting his shoulders in the slightest of shrugs, “I’ll put it fifty too.”

“I think I agree with Riza more.” Vato nodding, almost sagely.

“There’s no way they’ll get together,” Roy said, shaking his head, “Neither of them would ever confess.”

The other occupants of the table shook their heads in unison. Jean smiled as he said, “You know, sir, I’m with Riza on this one.”

Roy sighed, “I can’t believe my  _ entire team  _ is going against me.”

“Sorry, sir,” Kain said, suddenly quieter than he had been before.

“It was a joke, Kain. I understand.”

“Do we want to make this official?” Riza said, eyes locking with Roy’s. The smile on her face—wide and bright, the slightest laugh threatening to waver her taut lips—told Roy all that he needed to know; she had a plan.

And Roy couldn’t help but take that as a challenge.

“Fine. We’re all in fifty, and anyone who loses owes each person who wins.”

Everyone at the table nodded, lifted their drinks, and tapped their glasses together.

*****

“ _ What  _ are you doing, Havoc?”

Jean looked up from his position over Edwards desk, his lips curling into a sly grin, “Well, sir, I’m simply living up to my name!”

Roy shook his head, “And?”

“We’re just trying to get Ed and Ling together, sir.” Kain popped his head up from Ling’s desk, much the same as Havoc had.

“ _ And? _ ”

Havoc’s smile grew, “We’re… leaving gifts.” 

“Not from  _ you _ , I presume.”

“Nope. This one’s from  _ Ling _ —” Jean’s Fingers curled into air-quotes as he said Ling’s name.

“And this one is from Ed!” Kain finished.

Roy sighed, “I wouldn’t have agreed to this if I knew it would affect your work, you two.”

“You wouldn’t do anything about it anyways, sir.” Jean fixed the small bow on top of the box he had placed on Ed’s desk before standing up straight and turning towards Roy, “You need us too desperately to fire us, and you love us too much to really punish us.” Smiling, Jean walked past Roy, patting his shoulder before continuing to his desk.

“ _ Love _ is probably not the right word, Havoc,” Roy grumbled under his breath.

“Oh, I think it is.” Roy could  _ hear _ Jean’s sneer in his voice as he spoke. “Anyways, Kain, can you check this over for me?” 

Kain turned towards the desk, fixed something—presumably the other small gift—on Ling’s desk, then turned cheerily towards Jean. “Sorry, sir,” he said as he walked past Roy, “We’ll make sure not to bug you next time.”

“No we won’t.”

Roy frowned, but he couldn’t help but laugh a bit; they really were dedicated to the love life of their colleagues, much more than Roy had thought when he had agreed to the bet. 

Roy truly hoped that allowing these shenanigans didn’t put his wallet in danger.

*****

“Alright, does everyone have their names?”

The occupants of the room nodded, tucking the small piece of paper they had just received into one pocket or another as they began to find their way back to their desks. Roy unfolded his own slip of paper. The name  _ Ling _ was written in clean, swooping letters across the paper.

_ Perfect _ , Roy thought,  _ that has to spoil their plans a little. _

“Remember,” Roy continued as the last of his coworkers found their desks, “There’s a fifty dollar limit on your gift.”

“And what are you gonna do if we go over?” Ed smirked at Roy as he spoke, clearly expecting his challenge to spark anger in his coworker, “Take the gift for yourself?”

“Only if the gift is for you, Elric.”

Ed’s grin quickly turned into a scowl, “Whatever, old man.”   


It was Roy’s turn to smile. He turned, placing the hat he had used to hold the papers on the corner of his desk.

There was a knock at his office door, and Roy turned to find Jean standing in his doorway. As he walked through the door frame, a friendly grin on his face, Roy could see him playing with his own slip of paper between his fingers.

“So, boss, about that gift exchange-”

“There’s no switching people, if that’s what you’re asking.”

Jean shook his head, “No, that’s not it. I was just… well, I was wondering who you got for the exchange?”

Rolling his eyes, Roy let himself fall backwards into his chair, “Havoc, it wouldn’t be a  _ Secret _ Santa if we told each other who we got.”

“I know that,” Havoc said, raising an eyebrow, “and I know that there’s no switching giftee’s either.  _ But _ -”

“Havoc…”

“ _ But _ I thought maybe you might prefer to buy for the person I got. I mean, you know your wife a lot better than I do, plus your anniversary is coming up soon, right?”

“So you got my wife, I presume?”

“I thought you’d rather buy something for her than whoever you got, y’know? So maybe if we could just switch-”

“Why are you being so persistent, Jean? You’ve known Riza just as long as I have, so I know you wouldn’t have a problem buying her a gift.”

Jean frowned, “I just thought I’d offer you the opportunity. I guess I was mistaken.”

Slowly, Roy sighed, “Nobody hears about this, alright?”

A light twinkled behind Jean’s eyes, “Of course not, sir.”

“And there won’t be any trading outside of right now in this room, clear?”   


“Of course, sir!”

Roy slipped his own piece of paper out of his pocket and held it towards Jean, “Fine.”

“Great!” Jean grabbed the paper with Ling’s name, placing his slip in the palm of Roy’s now-empty hand, “Now, I’ve got work to get working on, so I’ll talk to you later.”

“Yes, please go do some work.”

A goofy, almost childish grin tugged at the corners of Jeans mouth as he saluted his boss. As he turned and left the room, Roy opened the paper that was now his. His biggest fear was banished the second he opened the paper and saw the graceful cursive that spelled his wife’s name; Jean hadn’t been lying to Roy to exchange his giftee for someone easier to buy for. 

But that opened the door to another fear: what if Jean had switched papers to move forward in his squad’s little plan to get Ed and Ling together?”

_ Well _ , Roy reasoned with himself as he slid the paper into his pocket,  _ it’s too late to go back. Let's just hope I didn’t help them win. _

*****

“How’s the gift hunting going?”

Roy looked over at Riza, watching as she flipped the page of her book. She turned her eyes up to Roy’s, a gentle smile on her face.

“Well, it’s going pretty good I think.” Roy shrugged as he replied. He wasn’t lying, of course—he’d found a necklace at a second hand shop that he hoped Riza would at least  _ enjoy _ —but the gentle upturn of Riza’s eyebrow and slight grin on her face made Roy feel as if she knew something he didn’t. “Why?”

“Just wondering,” Riza said, turning her attention back towards the novel in her hands. She pulled the duvet up over her torso as she continued reading. Roy watched as her eyes scanned the pages. The slightest glint of mischief in her eyes.

“How about you?” Roy asked after a moment, “How’s your gift hunt going?”

“Good. I bought mine a while back.”

Roy started in surprise, “A while back? We only drew names two weeks ago.”

The grin returned to Riza’s face, even wider than before, “I know.”

“You swapped names with someone, didn’t you?” Riza was silent, her eyes moving slowly across the page in front of her once again. Roy sighed, but couldn’t stop the smile that tugged on his lips. He rolled into his side and reached for the lamp on his bedside table. “I guess I’ll see next week?”

“I guess you will.” Roy could  _ hear  _ the smile in Riza’s voice as she spoke.

The two were quiet for a moment, the only sound the gentle flipping on the pages of Riza’s book. Then, she broke the silence, “Also, when I win the bet, don’t worry about paying me. I think that money would be better spent on dinner out.”

“Hang on.  _ When _ you win the bet?” Roy turned to his other side, looking up at Riza from his pillow with an eyebrow raised, “You’re quite confident then, I suppose?”

“Of course I am! I wouldn’t have made the bet if I wasn’t.” Riza closed her book with a smile, placing it on the bedside table beside her. “So, dinner when I win?”

“You know what? Sure. Anywhere you want,” Roy said as Riza readjusted herself on their bed and laid down, “ _ If _ , and  _ only _ if, you win the bet.”

“I will,” Riza replied. As she did, she reached for the lamp on her bedside table, switching it off, 

“Goodnight, Roy.”

“Goodnight, Riza,” Roy sighed, shutting his eyes.

*****

“Thank you, Haymans.”

In front of him, Vato held out a twinkling Christmas sweater, the clearly forced grin showing just how excited he was to receive it. Haymans laughed, his gag-gift clearly getting the reaction he expected.

“Your turn, Ling!” Jean said with just enough enthusiasm to make Roy raise an eyebrow

“Alright!” Ling grabbed the small, poorly wrapped box from the table, eagerly tearing through the paper without a second thought. Roy couldn’t help but notice the slightest hint of pink on Ed’s cheekbones as Ling opened the box and pulled out a small metal key chain.

Roy was completely taken back by the gift. He admired it as Ling held it in front of him; it was clearly handmade, though definitely not by a profession, and ornate engravings that Roy recognized as Xingese designs were etched into the silver metal. It was beautiful, and though it held no meaning to Roy he could tell how much the gift meant to Ling. 

It was  _ not  _ something that Jean could have made. In fact, Roy knew that Ed had recently taken up metalworking as a hobby.

One look at Jean, and Roy’s suspicions were confirmed. 

“Thank you, Ed.” Ling’s voice was uncharacteristically soft as he turned his head towards Ed, “It’s… it’s beautiful.”

Ling smiled, and the colour in Ed’s cheeks intensified.

“Alright, Ed, you’re the last one to go,” Jean said, almost laughing. Anger shot through Roy’s veins, but it felt so…  _ subdued _ . Roy should be angry that his team had gone behind his back like they had, that they had rigged the gift exchange so they could win their stupid bet, but Roy couldn’t shake the feeling of contentment that spread through his chest like perfume in the air.

Ed reached for his gift--a medium-sized red gift bag with gold foil paper that glittered in the light of the fluorescent bulbs above--and a small smile pulled at the corner of his mouth. It didn’t take long for Ed to pull two cans of aerosol string out of the bag, his smile turning quickly into a sharp grin.

“ _ Perfect _ ,” Ed said, just loud enough for the other occupants of the room to hear. Roy felt a slight shiver run up his spine, and he made a mental note to ensure  _ all _ of the doors were securely locked for the rest of the year.

Then, they all watched as Ed turned towards Ling.

As both boys leaned forward.

As they briefly kissed.

The room was silent for a moment as Ed and Ling pulled away from each other, gentle smiles on their lips and content in their eyes. Then, all at once, the occupants of the room went into a frenzy.

“What?” Jean exclaimed loudly over the cacophonous chaos that was the room, that was all of the employees talking, loud and confused and all at once.

“What’s going on?” Ed asked, his face back to being passively angry and his normal impatient tone laced through his words.

“You’re already dating?” Vato asked.

“What do you mean  _ already? _ ”

Jean raised his arms, “We didn’t think you two were together yet!”

“We didn’t think you’d care!” Ed replied, nearly shouting.

“What do you mean  _ yet? _ ” Ling added, one eyebrow high above its normal position on his face.

The room fell into a brief and  _ very _ awkward silence. Riza was the one to break it; she sighed, then said, “We could tell that you were crushing hard on each other. But we didn’t…”

“I can’t believe I had  _ money _ on this!” Haymans muttered, just slightly louder and clearer that he had clearly wanted based on how wide his eyes grew when the people in the room turned towards him, glaring.

“Money? You were  _ betting _ on us?”

“All of us were, actually.” Roy wished Haymans hadn’t admitted to it, but he also wasn’t about to leave him hanging. Roy shrugged when Ed turned towards him, glaring.

Then, out of nowhere, Ling began to laugh. Ed glanced back, confused, but joined in after a moment. Soon, everyone was laughing, the situation seemingly forgotten.

“Who won, then?” Ling asked once the laughter in the room had died down.

“Well, I definitely did,” Riza said, shrugging her shoulders, “My money was on you two being together by the end of the year.”

“Me too.”

“Me three,” Jean grinned at Roy, whose face must have been tomato-red by now.

Haymans hummed, “Mine was on us needing to push you two a little.”

“Did our little, uh,  _ gifts  _ help at all?” Kain added, cocking his head innocently.

“You mean those little boxes of chocolates you left on our desks?” Kain and Haymans nodded, and Ling only laughed sharply in response, “No, we were already together at that point.” 

Ed made a small motion, and Ling’s face contorted into a gentle look of pain. “ _ Ow, _ Ed. What was that for?”

“They don’t need to know that!” Ed said through clenched teeth.

“Did anything we did to push you help?”

Ling shook his head, “It’s been a few months for us, so no.”

Ed shot a glare towards Ling, clearly upset at his oversharing, but even that seemed softer than Ed’s normal glares. Roy laughed, “So Riza, Jean, and Vato were right.”

“Hand it over, boss!” Jean said, a playful grin tugging at his cheeks.

Sighing, Roy dug through his wallet, and Haymans and Kain followed suit.

The party didn’t last much longer--it was late, and after a workday,  _ and _ it was the holiday season, so no one was keen on staying much later than they had to. Ed and Ling were the first to leave, and the older staff watched them leave hand in hand.

“Well, can you believe that?” Jean said once the door had closed behind the two boys, “They were already together!”

“Shut up, Havoc,” Roy, Kain, and Haymans said in unison; Roy thought to his now significantly emptier wallet and sighed. 

It wasn’t long before the others left as well, leaving Roy and Riza to lock the doors of the office. Riza sighed as she slid the key from the lock, her breath swirling in silver mist in the December air. “Can you believe they were already together?” Roy asked, holding his hand towards Riza.

“Of course I can. You do  _ remember _ the bet we made, right?” she said, slipping her fingers between Roy’s.

Roy sighed, “Yes, I do. And you were right.”

Riza nodded, a grin pulling at her lips, “And you remember what you promised me?”

Sighing again, Roy said, “Right, I almost forgot. What are we having, then? Steak? Seafood?”

“Pizza.”

“Pizza?”

“You really thought I’d force you to take me somewhere fancy?”

“Well, I-I just… I guess that’s just what I thought the agreement implied.”

Riza laughed, her grip tightening slightly around Roy’s hand, “Come on. Let’s go get dinner and go home.”

Roy nodded, “I think I can manage that.”

**Author's Note:**

> aerosol string is just silly string if u've gotten this far and haven't looked it up yet!
> 
> comments are always appreciated!! <3<3
> 
> you can find me on tumblr @/greecllings and on twitter @/greedlings_


End file.
